"There were men women and those who by their clothes and appearance could be considered of any sex" (Article of "The wall" of May 10, 1872)
It would be difficult to talk about the construction of masculinity and femininity without taking into account a social and historical factory that produces sexed bodies.
So before asking about how societies produce masculinity and femininity, it seems necessary to ask a previous question: what is a sexed body? And I think that the way Western feminism and gender studies have responded has been the same as that of Beauvoir when he asserted that sex is a continuum that we have delimited and segmented into only two parts: male and female, but that we could have delimited in three or more parts - in this way we would have three or more sexes. This same idea was already beating in the social movement of women at the beginning of the 20th century, when a "third sex" was demanded that questioned the rigidity of the established images of femininity.
The sexuation of the world, the masculine / feminine binary sex, is the basic organizational structure of our societies. It is a system of construction of acceptable and unacceptable bodies, which also decides that they must be "feminine" and "masculine" to be recognizable. Thus, "femininity" is trapped in the social norm that in each historical epoch dictates what a female body must be, but on the other hand, individual resistances are generated against the constraint and oppression that this rule produces in social life. In fact, also at the beginning of the 20th conservative voices were raised against "women with short hair and men with long hair" who seemed to want to revoke the order of the sexes. "Femininity" is, in this sense, a political system of inferiorization, exclusion and control of women -which has as its counterpart "masculinity" as a system of domination and social promotion of men. But on the other hand resistances are generated against the straitjacket and oppression that in social life produces that norm, that is, it is about declassifying the sex / gender system, of deconstructing the sexuation system of the world.
Founder/President of "Quebrar o Silêncio" Association
Baby therapist and breastfeeding counselor
Baby therapist and breastfeeding counselor
Baby therapist and breastfeeding counselor (WHO/Unicef). Author of the books "Os Bebés Também Querem Dormir" ("Babys also want to sleep") and "O Livro de Magia das Mães" ("Mother's Magic Book").
Lawyer
Lawyer
In-house lawyer at Grupo Salvador Caetano. He graduated in Law by the Faculdade de Direito da Universidade do Porto. He did his master’s degree in Private Law by the Universidade Católica Portuguesa subordinated to the theme of “The Adoption in the scope of homo-affective parenthood.
Pediatra | CH Alto Minho - V. Castelo
Pediatra | CH Alto Minho - V. Castelo
Pediatrics, Local Unit of Health Alto Minho, EPE. Lecturer on the School of Health Sciencies of Minho; Trainer of Pediatric's Life Advanced Support, by theEuropean Ressuscitation Council. Member of the the board of Portuguese Society of Adolescence Medicine and author of the books “Pediatra para Todos” and “Primeiros Socorros - Bebés e Crianças”. Author of the blog and app for android “Pediatria para Todos”. Colaborator on the program “A Tarde é Sua” on TVI and “Filhos e Cadilhos” on Porto Canal. Colaborator of Visão magazine and Saúda magazine.
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